Cave Communication
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Bacon Rind - A thin drapery formation with bands of different colors hanging from the roof of a cave like a large strip of bacon.

Calcite - A mineral, calcium carbonate (CaCO₃); the major component of limestone and nearly all formations.

Cave - A natural opening beneath the Earth's surface large enough to allow a person to enter. It is usually deep enough that some part of it is in total darkness. Syn. Cavern

Chemical weathering - A process which breaks down rocks by the action of chemicals.

Column - A pillar-like structure formed when a stalactite and a stalagmite have met and joined together.

Curtain - A thin, translucent sheet of calcite formed when water flows down the inclined ceiling of a cave. Syn. Drapery.

Erosion - The process by which weathered materials are carried away by wind, water, or glaciers.

Fault - A crack or parting in a rock, often occurring in sets or parallel groups. 

Flowstone - A surface coating or a calcite layer which has been deposited by a descending film of mineral-charged cave water.

Formation - Any mineral deposit formed in a cave. Syn. Speleothem.

Ground Water - The part of subsurface water which occupies cavities or pores in the rocks.

Helictite - A distorted, twisting stalactite that grows with a seeming disregard of the pull of gravity.

Landform - A feature of the earth's crust. Example of landforms include mountains, valleys, plans, and plateaus.

Limestone - A sedimentary rock composed chiefly of the mineral calcite. Since it is easily dissolved by acidic ground water, most of the world's caves are formed in limestone.

Natural Resource - Any part of nature that humans can use or enjoy such as coal, oil, or natural areas such as parks.

Non-renewable resource - A natural resource which would be very difficult or impossible to replace because of its rarity or because it would take a very long time.

Physical Weathering - The process of breaking down rocks by a physical reaction such as wind, water, plants, or ice.

Stalactite - A formation which hangs down from the ceiling of a cave.

Stalagmite - A formation which grows upward from the floor of a cave.

Weathering - The process of breaking down rock forms. Weathering may occur chemically or physically.